Ilie Steflea

Ilie Steflea (11 April 1888-21 May 1946) was a Lieutenant-General of the Romanian Army and Chief of the General Staff from 20 January 1942 to 23 August 1944 during World War II.

Biography
Ilie Steflea was born on 11 April 1888 in Szelistye, Transylvania, Austria-Hungary. Economic hardships forced his family to move to Dobruja in Romania, and he joined the Romanian 34th Infantry Regiment during World War I. Steflea rose to Lieutenant-General after the war's end, and on 20 January 1942 he became Chief of the General Staff of the Romanian Army during World War II. Steflea was awarded the Iron Cross twice on 12 October 1941 and 26 March 1942, and he was one of the Romanian commanders at the Jassy-Kishinev Offensive in 1944, initially fighting for the Axis Powers before Romania defected to the Allied Powers. In November, he was forced to leave command of the Romanian 4th Army after he was accused of being loyal to Ion Antonescu, and he died on 21 May 1946 after the war while being harged with war crimes.